Thursday, January 31, 2008

RSI Interview at Mediacorp




Date: 31 January 2008.
Location: Mediacorp's Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Andrew Road, Singapore.

It was just a normal and usual day in the office when I received an e-mail from Renatha, one of my fellow moderators of the Indo-Sing mailing list, asked me to join a forum interview by Radio Singapore International (RSI), the Indonesian section, with regards to Indonesians living in Singapore.

He said that Handoko, another our fellow Indo-Sing moderator, was supposed to join but he couldn't make it, so he asked me to cover for him. Other people who are invited to join the forum were Sigit, an Indo-Sing mailing list user, Hany and Ellen, Indo-Sing mailing list users and IndoSing-Mums mailing list moderators, and another one which was not yet decided.

Earlier, Renatha asked Andre, Dedhi, dan Ikhsan, three of some active Indo-Sing mailing list users, to also join the forum, but they were not able to make it. Therefore, we decided to invite Judhi, one of the moderators for the IMAS mailing list, to also join the forum, and fortunately he's able to join. So there would be representatives from three Indonesian communities in Singapore, namely Indo-Sing, IndoSing-Mums and IMAS.

Efika Rosemarie (Fika) is the RSI's presenter who interviewed us. She said that it was supposed to be Rane's show, but now Rane is being posted in Indonesia for six months, as RSI's correspondent in Indonesia. We had a pre-interview meeting on 29 January 2007, located at Hany's residence in Braddell, Toa Payoh, for Fika to brief us on what the programme is all about, and how we were going to conduct the forum discussion.

During the briefing, we were also brainstorming on what topics we would be discussing on the interview forum. There were three topics being discussed during the interview, and each topic was being discussed in a 30-minute duration. Fika suggested "working in Singapore" and "mailing lists for Indonesian communities in Singapore" as the two topics that we would be discussing, and for the third discussion, the topic would be "how long we would continue to stay in Singapore and whether we would be back to Indonesia later". Quite interesting topics to discuss. :)

Unfortunately, Ellen's daughter was admitted to hospital, so Ellen was not able to join both the pre-interview meeting and the interview itself. So there were five of us: myself, Renatha, Sigit, Hany and Judhi attended the forum interview.

The interview itself was conducted last night at Mediacorp's Caldecott Broadcast Centre at Andrew Road. This is not my first experience in attending interview by RSI, I have been there before to attend an interview session with Rane. However, this is my first experience of a forum interview session with my friends, discussing about familiar topics that we all know very well. It was really, really, really fun!!! :)

Furthermore, Fika allowed us to take pictures prior, after and even *during* the interview session, and being narcisst photographers, Judhi, Hany and myself took our pictures during the whole event. :) :)

Similar to my interviews last time, it was not a live programme. It's recorded and I will update again on the exact time when the programme will be aired so that all of you can hear us on the radio. :) Unfortunately, being an international radio in Singapore, the programme cannot be heard in Singapore using the normal radio, since it's being broadcasted through the short-wave (SW) frequency which can only be received outside Singapore. Listeners in Indonesia can also hear RSI programme through some local radio stations which list can be found here. For those in Singapore, you can still hear it via the Internet, either via streaming or podcast. I'll update you again when they become available.

Update on 4 February 2007, 6:15pm: Fika has updated us that the FORUM talk show will be broadcasted by RSI Indonesia every Monday night at 9:35pm Singapore time (or 8:35pm Western Indonesian Time), starting from 18 February 2008 until 14 April 2008.

There are three topics to be discussed and each topic will be divided into three time slots. Thus, the whole interview will be broadcasted in a span of 9 weeks. The broadcast can be listened through RSI Indonesia's live streaming as well as its podcast, which will be available during and after the broadcast.

Related links:

RSI Pre-Interview Briefing and Meeting
Suatu Malam di RSI
RSI Interview at MediaCorp
Rekaman di RSI
FORUM bersama para anggota komunitas Indonesia di Singapura

RSI Pre-Interview Briefing and Meeting




Date: Tuesday, 29 January 2008.
Location: Iwan and Hany's residence, Braddell, Toa Payoh North, Singapore.

Full article with regards to this, as well as the interview itself, will follow later. ;)

Related links:

RSI Interview at Mediacorp

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Photos Taken by Irza, Bagus and Luki's Housewarming (Part 2)




Date: Sunday, 27 January 2008.
Location: Bagus and Luki's residence at Anchorvale, Sengkang, Singapore.

As I have mentioned on the Part 1 album, these are the pictures taken by Irza during Bagus and Luki's housewarming event at their new residence in Anchorvale, Sengkang.

Take note that all this pictures were taken by my son Irza, although I have cropped and edited some of the pictures for your pleasure viewing. :)

He was using the camera together with Fresha and Kanaya who were also using their parents' cameras. So they ended up taking pictures of each other. :) :)

Irza, as well as Kanaya, were fond of and a big fan of Naurin, tante Lenny's baby daughter. That explains why Irza took quite a lot of her pictures. Irza were also taking pictures of om Yuwono who were trying to take pictures of the three little photographers. :) :)

Well, some of you might asked, why Irza prefers to play with the girls (especially pretty girls like Fresha or Kanaya :P :P) rather than with the boys? :) Because Irza always tend to fight, and not play, with the boys, hahaha...

Which reminds me or another thing, sometimes Irza refers himself as a "playboy". Of course, his definition of playboy is "a boy who likes to play...."

Related links:

Bagus and Luki's Housewarming (Part 1)
House Warming
Little Papparazies

Bagus and Luki's Housewarming (Part 1)




Date: Sunday, 27 January 2008.
Location: Bagus and Luki's residence at Anchorvale, Sengkang, Singapore.

On a nice Sunday afternoon, we went to Anchorvale in Sengkang, north-east of Singapore, to attend a "housewarming" event at Bagus and Luki's new residence there.

The food is all wonderfulicious, with the hosts preparing sambal goreng, fried chicken, tekwan, siomay for lunch, with all the desserts such as fruit jelly and watermelon fruit cuts thrown in.

Inka and Irza were very happy playing with all their friends there, both in the house and at the playground outside the block.

Irza even took some pictures of the event, together with other photographer-kids Kanaya and Fresha. If you noticed, pictures numbered 1215 until 1465 were missing here, those pictures were taken by Irza and they are surprisingly quite good and plentiful, so I will upload them on another album, which will be the second part (Part 2). Stay tuned. :) :)

Related articles/albums:

Photos Taken by Irza, Bagus and Luki's Housewarming (Part 2)
House Warming
Little Papparazies

Turut Berduka Cita atas Meninggalnya Pak Harto

Artikel ini aslinya di-posting disini.

Picture courtesy of Channel NewsAsia.

Pada jam setengah tiga waktu Singapura siang tadi (atau sekitar jam 13:30 WIB), saya dan keluarga sedang menghadiri acara housewarming (ngangetin rumah baru) Bagus dan Luki di Sengkang (foto-foto dan liputan menyusul) ketika tiba-tiba Aci membaca SMS yang masuk ke handphone-nya dan mengabari kalau Pak Harto sudah meninggal, sekitar 20 menit sebelumnya. Mas Jan dan Kang Dudi yang lagi asyik nonton siaran langsung tenis Australia Open langsung memindahkan saluran televisi di rumah Bagus ke Channel NewsAsia, yang menayangkan laporan langsung yang cukup lengkap dan me-relay berita dan liputan langsung dari beberapa stasiun TV di Indonesia seperti Metro TV, Lativi dan TVRI.

Presiden Republik Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, meminta seluruh rakyat Indonesia untuk mendoakan Pak Harto, dan memutuskan satu minggu masa berkabung nasional. Yudhoyono juga telah menginstruksikan seluruh kantor instansi pemerintah di Indonesia untuk mengibarkan bendera Merah Putih setengah tiang selama 7 hari. Yudhoyono mendeskripsikan Pak Harto sebagai salah satu "anak bangsa" terbaik dan seorang pemimpin besar yang telah banyak memberikan dedikasinya untuk bangsa dan negara Indonesia.

Menteri Luar Negeri Malaysia, Syed Hamid Albar mengatakan bahwa meninggalnya Pak Harto adalah sebuah "kehilangan besar" bagi region (Asia Tenggara). Menurut beliau, mantan perdana menteri Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad dan wakil perdana menteri Najib Razak akan menghadiri upacara pemakaman Pak Harto. Sementara dari Singapura, perdana menteri Lee Hsien Loong akan pergi ke Jakarta sore ini untuk memberikan penghormatan terakhirnya kepada Pak Harto, sedangkan wakil perdana menteri S Jayakumar akan menghadiri upacara pemakaman Pak Harto di Solo.

Terlepas dari pro dan kontra, serta perbedaan opini terhadap jasa-jasa beliau untuk Indonesia (artikel tersebut sengaja tidak saya cross-post disini karena memang diperuntukkan untuk "pangsa pasar" yang berbeda), saya mengucapkan turut berduka cita atas meninggalnya Pak Harto. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi roji’uun. Semoga semua kesalahannya dimaafkan oleh Allah SWT, dan keluarga yang ditinggalkan diberikan ketabahan iman.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden




Date: Saturday, 19 January 2007.
Location: Jacob Ballas Children's Garden, Singapore Botanic Garden.

On a nice Saturday morning, after dropping off my wife and Hera at Orchard, I took Inka and Irza to Jacob Ballas Children's Garden.

This was not Inka and Irza's first visit there, but it was *my* first visit. :P We didn't spend much time there since we were also in a hurry to go to another birthday party in the afternoon. Inka and Irza's favourite place there is the a-MAZE-ing play.

We met Natalia who came with her two kids, Nigel and Ernest. It was quite a hot late morning so I bought some ice creams for Inka and Irza at the Kidz Cafe, which is located at the entrance to the garden.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Happy Birthday, January

Di pertengahan hingga akhir bulan Januari ini, daftar di kolom "Upcoming Events" di Multiply saya lebih banyak dan "rame" dibandingkan biasanya. Setelah saya cek, ternyata banyak sekali rekan-rekan MP-ers yang berulang tahun dalam beberapa hari ke depan ini.

Dimulai dari Neng Enji yang akan berulang tahun besok (20 Januari), lalu Mbak Yaya yang akan berulang tahun hari Senin (21 Januari), Mbak Hany yang akan berulang tahun hari Kamis (24 Januari), Ichan yang akan berulang tahun hari Jum'at (25 Januari), Agus Abimanyu yang akan berulang tahun hari Sabtu depan (26 Januari), tetangga Hera yang akan berulang tahun 27 Januari, dan juga Mbak Kiky dan Mbak Endang yang barengan berulang tahun tanggal 29 Januari.

Selamat ulang tahun aja deh buat semuanya. Ditunggu acara makan-makannya. :) :)

PS. Tanggal-tanggal diatas valid provided yang bersangkutan men-set tanggal lahir yang benar di setting Multiply-nya. :)

Mount Faber

This article is originally posted on ABN's Asia Travel Blog here.

Mount Faber, one of tourist attractions in Singapore, is not really a mountain. It is just a hill, about 106 metres in height, located just north of the Harbourfront area. The highest point is called Faber Point, and from there, we can have a panoramic view of the surrounding areas, including the Harbourfront area and the buildings at Singapore's central business district area. There's a small Merlion statue in Faber Point, and on the lower level, there are some stone carvings depicting some of Singapore's history.

Just further down from Faber Point, there's a building called The Jewel Box, houses some fine dining restaurants and some souvenir shops. From there, we can also catch a cable car to Harbourfront and Sentosa. Apart from that, there's nothing much to see and do there other than enjoying the greenery of the secondary rainforest around Mount Faber.

The best way to reach Mount Faber is by taxi. There is a bus service from SBS Transit called Parks 409, which runs from Harbourfront bus interchange to Mount Faber on Saturday, Sunday and public holiday. The bus fare is $1, payable using cash or EZ-Link card. If we drive a car there, finding a parking lot might be difficult, especially during evening peak hours. However, The Jewel Box provides valet service for those who need it.

At the moment, the National Parks Board is building a bridge to connect Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park, with a further connection up to Kent Ridge Park, connecting all the three parks. This means that visitors can jog or walk from one park to another without having to exit the park and/or take other methods of transportation. When I visited Mount Faber recently, I saw that the bridge is still under construction, and might be fully operational in the next couple of months.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Reuni Keluarga UI (Universitas Indonesia) di Singapura

Original article can be found here.

Pada hari Sabtu, 12 Januari 2007 yang lalu, saya dan keluarga menghadiri acara reuni keluarga para alumni UI (Universitas Indonesia) di Singapura. Undangan untuk menghadiri acara ini saya terima di milis Indo-Sing, dan undangan ini terbuka untuk para alumni UI dan keluarganya yang sekarang bermukim di Singapura. Diprakarsai oleh tiga lulusan UI yang sekarang bermukim di Singapura: Hany, Iif dan Ellen, acara ini diadakan di sebuah function room di dekat tempat kediaman Iwan dan Hany di Braddell, Toa Payoh.

Ternyata banyak sekali alumni UI yang sekarang bermukim di Singapura, terbukti dari banyaknya mereka yang datang ke acara reuni tersebut. Saya tadinya menyangka acara reuni tersebut akan didominasi oleh rekan-rekan alumni Fakultas Ilmu Komputer, mengingat banyak sekali teman-teman Indonesia di Singapura yang merupakan alumni Fasilkom UI. Eh, ternyata setelah dikumpulin untuk keperluan foto, alumni Fakultas Teknik ternyata yang paling banyak, yang didominasi oleh para alumni jurusan arsitektur FTUI yang bekerja di Singapura sini. Ternyata banyak juga arsitek-arsitek Indonesia yang bekerja di Singapura.

Makanan yang disediakan beraneka ragam, mulai dari sate ayam, pempek, bakso, ayam bakar, ketupat, nasi goreng, ayam goreng, tempe mendoan, bakwan, combro, bahkan serabi dan banyak lagi jenis makanan Indonesia lainnya. Tidak lupa juga ada acara sesi foto untuk tiap fakultas dan tiap jurusan di depan spanduk "Reuni UI Singapore" lengkap dengan logo Makara-nya. Saya sendiri ditodong oleh Mbak Hany untuk berfoto bersama rekan-rekan lulusan pascasarjana UI lainnya.

Foto-fotonya bisa dilihat disini, sementara foto-foto dari fotografer lainnya bisa dilihat disini (perlu login ke Facebook), disini, disini, disini, disini dan disini.

Link terkait:


Monday, January 14, 2008

Sandy and Elsy's Housewarming




Date: Saturday, 12 January 2008.
Location: Sandy and Elsy's residence, Bishan, Singapore.

Before attending the UI reunion event in Braddell in the evening, we went to Sandy and Elsy's residence in Bishan for a housewarming event in the afternoon.

Inka and Irza were not in a good mood initially, especially Irza who was very shy and nervous and didn't want to even enter the house *sigh* since there were already many people inside... but eventually they can enjoy and especially Irza was happy enjoying sate Braddell, ice cream and many other food provided by the host. :) :)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Banquet Halal Food Court di Causeway Point

This article is originally posted here.

Banquet adalah tempat makan (food court) favorit keluarga kami di Singapura. Tempatnya nyaman dan ber-AC, dan harganya juga terjangkau, tidak berbeda jauh dibandingkan harga makanan di hawker centre dan jauh lebih murah dibandingkan harga makanan di restoran atau kafe. Selain itu, saya juga mempunyai kartu diskon Banquet yang bisa memberikan 10% diskon di seluruh outlet Banquet di Singapura. Kartu diskon ini saya dapatkan secara gratis waktu itu. Sayang sekarang Banquet tidak lagi mengeluarkan kartu diskon ini untuk pelanggan baru.

Yang paling penting, semua kedai (stall) di Banquet mendapatkan sertifikasi halal dari MUIS, sehingga kita dan rekan-rekan Muslim lainnya bisa bebas mencoba semua jenis makanan yang disediakan disana, baik makanan Western, Chinese, Japanese dan banyak pilihan makanan lainnya. Hal ini berbeda dengan food court biasa seperti Kopitiam yang biasanya hanya menyediakan makanan halal di kedai Nasi Padang-nya saja.

Ada banyak cabang Banquet di Singapura, dan beberapa cabang Banquet yang biasa kita kunjungi adalah di Jurong Point (food court halal pertama di Singapura), IMM (Bagus) dan VivoCity. Nah, ada satu lagi cabang Banquet yang baru kita "temukan", walaupun cabang Banquet tersebut sebenarnya sudah buka sejak tahun lalu. Cabang Banquet yang "baru" ini terletak di Causeway Point, salah satu shopping mall terbesar di utara Singapura. Causeway Point terletak di daerah Woodlands, tepat di sebelah stasiun MRT Woodlands.

Lokasi Woodlands yang tidak jauh dari causeway ke Johor Bahru membuat shopping mall ini tidak hanya dikunjungi oleh warga Singapura yang tinggal di bagian utara, tapi juga oleh warga Malaysia, tepatnya Johor Bahru yang memang berlokasi tidak jauh dari sana. Dari tempat kediaman kami di Singapura, perjalanan ke shopping mall ini hanya membutuhkan waktu sekitar 20 menit, melewati Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE).

Di Causeway Point, food court Banquet ini lokasinya cukup terpencil, berada di lantai 7, lantai paling atas, satu lantai dengan pintu masuk dan box office ke bioskop Cathay. Area food court-nya cukup luas, meja dan tempat duduk-nya pun cukup banyak tersedia walaupun tentu saja kadang suka penuh kalau pas jam sibuk. Pilihan makanannya bervariasi mengingat jumlah stall yang cukup banyak, ada chicken rice, makanan Western, makanan Jepang, handmade noodle dan banyak stall lainnya.

Foto-fotonya (tidak banyak) bisa dilihat disini.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Amara Sanctuary Resort (Day 2)




[Continued from Amara Sanctuary Resort (Day 1)]

Date: Sunday, 6 January 2008.
Location: Amara Sanctuary Resort, Sentosa, Singapore.

During the second day of our stay at Amara Sanctuary Resort, we walked around the resort and had our breakfast at the Shutters Restaurant on the second floor of the hotel. The restaurant serves American breakfast and the food is nice.

After breakfast, I took the kids for swimming at the Dreams' family pool. Some of my colleagues who also stayed at the resort joined the fun. Inka and Irza were having fun swimming with Lemanto's daughter, Fransesca, and Michael's daughter (can't remember her name).

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Writing for ABN's Asia Travel Blog

Originally posted here.

At last, I'm now contributing to Asia Blogging Network (ABN). Specifically, I'll be writing on ABN's Asia Travel Blog, and on that blog, I will write more information about travelling in Singapore, the country where I live currently.

Yes, I had expressed my interests in contributing to ABN since the day it was launched, but I was afraid that I might not have the time, and especially, the "passion", to write on ABN. Therefore, I decided not to apply to become one of ABN's contributors. However, Budi offered me to write on ABN's Asia Travel Blog and asked me to write anything about travelling in Singapore, and it's really an offer I couldn't reject. I like travelling a lot, and I often write about my travel experience in my blogs. I was thinking, I might as well share the experience by contributing to ABN, to reach a much greater readers' base.

My article about Dolphin Lagoon is my first contribution to Asia Travel Blog. I'm looking forward to contributing more to ABN and hope to see you guys there. :)

Monday, January 7, 2008

Amara Sanctuary Resort (Day 1)




Date: Saturday, 5 January 2008.
Location: Amara Sanctuary Resort, Sentosa, Singapore.

On Saturday, 5 January 2008, I took my wife and kids to Amara Sanctuary Resort, located in the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore, for a one night stay after my company's annual management meeting being held on the same hotel. The resort's one night stay is partly subsidised by the company.

Some of the pictures below were taken by my wife, since I was still on a full day meeting on Saturday. During the first day, my wife and kids were spending the time exploring the hotel and use the swimming pool facility.

Since it's quite a new hotel, there's not much things to see and do there. The spa centre is even not opened yet.

[Continued to Amara Sanctuary Resort (Day 2)]

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Labrador Park




Date: Thursday, 27 December 2007.
Location: Labrador Nature Reserve, off Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore.

On our way back from Mount Faber, we dropped by at Labrador Nature Reserve, previously known as Labrador Park. Specifically, we went to the former location of the historic Batu Berlayar, or the "sailing rock".

Mount Faber




Date: Thursday, 27 December 2007.
Location: Mount Faber, Singapore.

The pictures were taken using my old Dopod 818 Pro phone's camera, since I forgot to put back my Canon digital camera's battery after it's being recharged. :P

There's also a small Merlion statue at Faber Point, which is the highest point at Mount Faber.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Kopdar Blogger Indonesia di Singapura dengan Budi Rahardjo

Original article can be found here.

Alhamdulillah, acara kopdar blogger Indonesia di Singapura dengan Pak Budi Rahardjo kemarin berjalan dengan lancar. Hujan yang kadang bisa datang dan pergi dengan mudahnya di Singapura, ternyata tidak datang kemarin sore walaupun langit sempat mendung.

Acara kopdar bertema BBQ tersebut diadakan di salah satu BBQ pit di kompleks apartemen tempat tinggal saya di Singapura, dengan menu utama sate Braddell, sate khas Indonesia andalan Mbak Hany yang memang sudah terkenal di kalangan komunitas warga negara Indonesia di Singapura. Hampir semua rekan-rekan blogger yang datang memuji enaknya sate tersebut, sampai Arief pun bahkan menyempatkan untuk meminta bocoran resepnya. ;)

Beberapa rekan blogger juga membawa serta istri/suami dan anak-anak mereka, menjadikan acara tersebut mengasyikkan bukan hanya untuk para bapak-bapak tapi juga untuk para ibu-ibu yang asyik merumpi, dan anak-anak yang asyik bermain, berenang di kolam renang, dan menyalakan kembang api.

Seperti yang Pak BR bilang, walaupun ngalor ngidul, tetap saja obrolan para blogger tersebut masih dalam koridor teknologi. Obrolan berjalan dengan asyik dengan diselingi beberapa rekan yang membantu ngipasin sate dan chicken wings, anak-anak yang asyik bermain dan berlarian, dan rekan-rekan yang ahli fotografi seperti Judhi dan Andri, snapping pictures here and there. :)

Saya mengucapkan terima kasih yang sebesar-besarnya kepada rekan-rekan yang menyempatkan diri untuk datang ke acara tersebut. Berikut adalam daftar peserta yang datang:

  1. Bintang tamu Pak Budi Rahardjo, bersama putri.
  2. Andri Setiawan, bersama istri Army Widyastuti.
  3. Indi Soemardjan dan Meutia Chaerani, bersama Noe dan Kei.
  4. Sari Sudarsono, bersama suami Jeremy Wagstaff.
  5. Suryatmaning Hany, bersama mas Iwan, Hanan dan Haifa.
  6. Goio Martosudirjo.
  7. Anthony Fajri, penggagas acara kopdar.
  8. Judhi Prasetyo, bersama teh Ami, Aily dan Algo.
  9. Dedhi Sujatmiko, bersama Devi dan Ajeng.
  10. Didik Achmadi.
  11. Arief Yudhanto, bersama Tuti dan Ezra.
  12. Indra Pramana, bersama istri Imelda Yolanda, Inka dan Irza.

Sayang ada beberapa rekan yang tidak bisa hadir. JaF aka Pak Rane tidak berhasil menukar jadwal siarannya di RSI sehingga tidak bisa datang ke acara tersebut, padahal beliau sudah bersiap-siap untuk datang ke acara bersama "pasukan"-nya, apalagi dari dulu beliau memang sudah dreaming ingin mencoba sate Braddell. :) Sementara Roni Subrata berhalangan hadir karena istri dan anaknya sakit pada saat yang bersamaan, dan Ady Wicaksono juga batal hadir karena mendadak sakit.

Foto-foto yang saya ambil (amatiran dengan menggunakan kamera pocket) bisa dilihat disini (Multiply) atau disini (Flickr). Sementara, foto-foto dari Judhi (dengan menggunakan kamera profesional) bisa dilihat disini. Sebagian foto-foto dari Andri (juga menggunakan kamera profesional) bisa dilihat disini, sisanya nanti akan di-upload ke situs Picasa-nya.

Update on 2 January 2008, 8:20am SGT: Foto-foto dari Andri sudah di-upload oleh beliau dan bisa dilihat disini.

Link terkait: